Our Values

God’s love is our driving force

At the heart of our Christian faith is the belief that God has a big heart for people and the world He created. It is our heart-felt desire to reflect and teach this love to the children in our care through every aspect of our Centre. Our program will include Bible stories, songs and prayer, however it is paramount to us that our Christian ethos is mostly reflected in the loving and respectful relationships we have with one another.

Relationships are the building blocks to learning

Relationships are the foundation of our teaching practices at Royals Early Learning Centre. We believe that when children feel known, loved and celebrated they become confident in exploring their creativity and curiosities in the world around them.
It is our teachers’ priority and delight to intentionally cultivate a loving relationship with the children in our care, enabling them to engage in quality play, resulting in quality learning.

We believe each child is uniquely created, therefore each child is valued and respected as an individual within the context of their family/whanau and culture. A vital part of building relationship with the children is the partnership with the family/whanau. We believe that parents/caregivers are children’s primary educators and we count it as a privilege to work alongside and provide support to this important role. We therefore welcome parents to be involved in our daily program at any time.

We foster an environment that is a home away from home

The environment we wish to create is one that feels like a home away from home; a positive place where children experience belonging. We want parents to know that their child is valued and respected as an individual and that their well-being is at the forefront of our teaching practices. We believe that children deserve the kind of respect that adults expect from one another. This means the child is at the centre of all interactions, routines, and teaching practices. Every child is treated with respect, they are active participants in care routines, and they know they have a place here. As a part of the Royals family, we also believe in placing an expectation on children to take responsibility for how they treat others and to engage in caring for our environment. We strive to make learning visible so that parents, whanau and visitors can see that their child’s contribution is valued and that children really are the centre of our philosophy.

We facilitate an environment that encourages play, the most meaningful way in which children learn.

Our approach to learning is inspired by Reggio Emilia; we believe that play is the most meaningful way young children learn. We endeavour to provide an environment that provokes creativity, encourages children to think and wonder, challenges capabilities, and expands their knowledge and understanding across a wide range of experiences. We believe education is about the process, not necessarily the final product. We aim to create an aesthetically pleasing environment which evokes feelings of warmth, simplicity and comfort that allows children to focus on what matters – their creative play with peers, and time communicating and working with their teachers. We believe in offering children separate time for inside and outside play, not as a matter of restricting play but of encouraging and maximising learning in all curriculum areas.

We believe our teachers’ roles to be both observation and facilitation; where children are given time to explore free from direct adult involvement with the knowledge that they and their efforts are supported. Secondly, we believe that children also learn through positive interaction with teachers, therefore our teachers facilitate a flexible and responsive curriculum, incorporating child-initiated approaches by noticing and building on the inherent talents and interest of each child or group of children.

Utilising our community to enrich our children’s learning.

We believe that our community is rich in the learning opportunities it offers and we endeavour to explore these opportunities to extend and enrich our children’s learning. We will build on the children’s various interests by exposing them to a wide range of opportunities. Such opportunities may include invited guests, exploring the natural environment that surrounds us or paying a visit to local organisations.